In the shadow of the debate over new sick leave rules at work, the debate over yet another health policy project in the black-red coalition’s reform package has been largely forgotten. We are talking about the “guarantee of appointment of specialists”, which is mentioned in the eleventh of 34 points.
However, the National Association of Compulsory Health Insurance Physicians does not consider the goal of requiring persons with compulsory medical insurance, in case of illness, when introducing so-called primary health care, to first of all contact their family doctor and to be able to offer a timely appointment with a specialist colleague if necessary.
© dpa/Markus Lenhardt
Reality is simply ignored.
Andreas GassenChairman of the Board of the National Association of Compulsory Health Insurance Physicians, on guarantees for the appointment of specialists
“Prescribing guarantees must be justified from a medical point of view, and not the wishful thinking of politicians,” Andreas Gassen, head of statutory health insurance doctors, said in a statement: “The reality is simply ignored.” In this context, the coalition is recommended to “also introduce a guarantee of many sunny days at a pleasant temperature of 25 degrees.”
Guarantees for planned appointments have been discussed for a long time
Matthias Miersch, chairman of the SPD parliamentary group, now vehemently refutes the criticism of statutory health insurance doctors about the planned specialist guarantee. “Statements like Mr. Gassen’s are a mockery of patients who wait months for an appointment,” he told the Tagesspiegel newspaper: “They only motivate me even more to enforce the guarantee of an appointment.”
© imago/Mike Schmidt/imago/Mike Schmidt
Then please explain to me why people with private insurance get an appointment with a specialist much faster than those who have compulsory medical insurance.
Matthias Miersch about criticism from the head of compulsory health insurance doctor Andreas Gassen
The Social Democrat further states that he “will fight until the fall for a guaranteed appointment with a specialist for persons with compulsory medical insurance.”
The average waiting time is 36 days.
If the CHI director “can’t understand the idea of such a guarantee” and argues that “appointments are primarily based on medical necessity,” says Miersch, “then he should please explain to me why people with private insurance can get an appointment with a specialist significantly faster than those with compulsory insurance.”
The leader of the SPD parliamentary group explained: “It cannot be that privately insured people have a higher medical need simply because of their status. That’s exactly what worries me.”
You can read more about the reform package here.
“I’m not the nation’s idiot” Here’s how family doctors think about black and red sick leave plans Sick leave by phone will be canceled Black and Red want to change that for employees. A tougher approach when taking sick leave What the reform plan means for employees – and why it may not be effective
According to the Federal Ministry of Health, the average waiting time for people with compulsory health insurance is 36 days if they want to make an appointment with a specialist. Previously, Mirsch had already called for a period of no more than three weeks. Gassin, in turn, called this demand “nonsense.”